AP - With public opinion shifting toward offshore drilling, Democrats are looking to defuse the volatile election issue by allowing oil companies for the first time to explore off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Virginia to Florida — but only if they foot the bill for new alternative energy programs.

AP - The federal government will run a near-record deficit of $407 billion this year, according to the latest Capitol Hill estimates.

AP - House Republican leaders demanded Tuesday that embattled Rep. Charles Rangel be removed from his post as chairman of a tax-writing committee while an ethics panel reviews his personal finances.

Reuters - Al Franken, a comedian and former liberal radio talk show host, won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday to run for a U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota.

AP - With a pair of easy primary victories behind them, comedian-turned-politician Al Franken and Sen. Norm Coleman wasted no time diving into the homestretch of their already long-running Minnesota Senate battle.